The Ultimate Guide to the New 4K TVs of 2016 from Samsung to LG, Sony and Vizio

2016 has been a boom year for new 4K TV models and we love the selections we’ve seen from different brands but this alone isn’t what makes the new models of this year so particularly special. After all, each year sees the unveiling of numerous new 4K offerings from the major manufacturers and this has been the case since these TVs first started seriously being made in 2013.

No, what makes 2016 particularly unique is that for the first time ever, we’ve seen the introduction of a truly display changing new technology to most of these new TVs and this technology, called high dynamic range, is not just a minor detail but something that rivals or even exceeds 4K resolution itself as a new and dramatically superior system for displaying the best in home entertainment content. This is just one of the major changes to 4K television offerings that has arrived in 2016. Other new developments, like the HDR-related technology of Wide Color Gamut and new television design trends are also important developments for 2016, and we’ll cover them all below, starting with HDR because it’s the most important 4K TV feature of 2016. Following our intro to the key technologies of 2016 4K TVs, we’ll cover the major premium models and explain how they stand for each of the key technologies below.

In any case, HDR is the core new technology of all premium 2016 4K TVs and it’s what makes the 4K ultra HD televisions of 2016 with HDR into displays of a truly superior quality from those of 2014 and even from most TVs released in 2015, when HDR was still poorly developed and haphazardly applied.

Yes, the 2015 and 2014 4K models came out with new technologies like quantum dot color, OLED technology and a few other interesting and often powerful quirks but none of these technologies really match HDR, as it’s applied to either LCD display or OLED display in terms of sheer visual impact.

This is mainly because HDR technology causes visual effects that enhance realism, detail and vibrancy in a way which is immediately visible even in smaller displays with the technology. Unlike 4K resolution, which is hard to distinguish from Full HD on small to mid-sized TVs from any normal viewing distance, if both kinds of television are put side by side, HDR is notable right off the bat when put next to standard dynamic range display in any screen size.

In essence, what HDR offers is a broader range of contrast levels between the brightest luminance and darkest black levels possible in a 4K TV while also allowing for both of these ends to be taken to further ranges. Additionally, as we explain in the HDR guide we link to above, the technology also brings with it color enhancements in the form of what is called Wide Color Gamut, or 10-bit and even more advanced 12-bit color coverage.

HDR has been available in many premium 4K TVs since at least 2015 but in 2016, it has become much more standardized and in many ways superior to its previous versions. Nonetheless, this technology is still lacking further, more robust development and still has much more potential, as we’ll see shortly when we cover the TVs that have it.

Before we move on further here, one key piece of information about HDR in the 4K TVs of 2016 that should be kept in mind is the specific dynamic range they can or should offer. For the most commonly used HDR standard of this year, Ultra HD Premium, this range is specifically set at 1000 nits of peak brightness and 0.05 nits of highest max black level in LCD 4K TVs. For 2016 OLED HDR TVs, the range has been set at 540 nits of peak brightness and 0.0005 nits of deepest black level. These are the two key specs of optimum HDR to-date.

Wide Color Gamut

The second major pillar of modern 4K TV display that’s now found in many if not most of the premium 4K TVs of 2016 is Wide Color Gamut. This is a technology for the display of content in a color gamut that matches the standards set for professional digital cinema and is represented by the color coverage found under what is commonly called the DCI-P3 color spectrum, which is itself part of an even bigger color coverage called Rec.2020. This is in contrast to the much smaller REC 709 color space coverage of most 2014 4K TVs and the vast majority of non-4K televisions.

For TV makers and for the main HDR standards of today, DCI-P3 is however what is used to set acceptable HDR Wide Color Gamut standards and all existing 4K full HDR TVs -from Sony’s XBR-D models for 2016, to Samsung’s SUHD 2016 TVs to Vizio’s P-Series 2016 models and of course LG’s 2016 and late 2015 OLED TVs- offer at least 85% or more coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. TVs which conform to Ultra HD Premium or Dolby Vision from the UHD Alliance must conform to at least 93% or more coverage of the DCI-P3 color space. With this wider color space coverage, there is also the 10-bit color we mentioned above. Most 4K TVs from 2014 and 2015 to a lesser extent offered only REC-709 color space coverage and 8-bit color.

Different color gamut containers

However, the difference between 8 bits and 10 bits is enormous, with 8-bit color allowing for a total of only 16.8 million color mixes and only 257 possibly values for any one of the primary digital display colors –Red Green and Blue (RGB). While this sounds enormous, 10-bit color allows for just over 1 billion different colors and 1024 different values for any of the RGB colors. In other words, a 4K TV with 10-bit color offers a much more refined, smoother gradation between color variations, and the effect in 4K TV display can be spectacular to behold, especially as far as realism and vibrancy are concerned.

Smart TV changes

The major 4K TV brands on the market all come with one type of smart TV platform or another and this is one of the key technologies found in these 4K TVs. Smart platforms are a 4K TVs user interface system for accessing content apps, browsing the web, watching movies and shows, accessing content from other sources like media players and conventional cable TV and connecting ones 4K TV to other external media devices in the home or beyond.

The main 4K TVs of 2016 all come with their own smart TV platforms and while some of the major brands have only modestly refined their 4K TV smart OS systems for this new year, others, like Vizio in particular, have completely revamped theirs. We’ll cover this as well since smart OS functionality is another important part of a quality home entertainment experience.

Sony’s Android TV

Physical Design

Physically, all 4K TVs share a small number of essential characteristics: They tend towards thin displays, narrow or minimal edge bezels, mounting flexibility for stands of walls through VESA mounts and in some brands, curved displays have become a major feature of entire 4K TV lines.

Between 2015 and 2016, many of these above characteristics haven’t changed much or have changed only marginally. Yes, the majority of 2016’s 4K TV s from major brands look different than they did in 2016 but only a couple of brands like Samsung and Sony have seriously redesigned their TVs for an almost completely different new look. LG in particular has unveiled the majority of its 2016 OLED 4K TVs in a form factor that’s completely unlike anything we’ve seen in any 4K TV yet made, while Samsung’s 2016 KU-Series 4K TVs and SUHD models on the other hand look remarkably similar to how they did in 2015.

One feature we’re glad to see fading away from popularity with major 4K TV models is curved display. As we explained in detail in our Curved vs. flat screen post, we carefully examined curved display and consider it to be a gimmick which offers no real “immersion” value or any other practical benefit to any 4K TV it appears in and in 2016, LG has almost completely abandoned this display style in its OLED models, while Samsung sticks to it while nonetheless offering a flat version of every one of their curved TVs. Curved seems to be going away and this is probably a good thing.

Sony’s new 2016 4K TV design

The 4K TVs of 2016:

Now, without further ado, let’s get down to analyzing the major brands and models of 2016 on a Brand-by-brand basis.

Why? Because the 2016 SUHD Samsung models nail all of the key specs for top-shelf display quality and the latest in color and high dynamic range technology in this year. All of them, from the cheapest to the flagship full-array LED lit KS9800, offer full Ultra HD Premium HDR standards certification for Wide Color Gamut, DCI-P3 coverage of 92% or more, peak brightness of more than 1000 nits and black levels of 0.05 nits or darker.

In fact, the KS8000 and all of the even pricier SUHD TVs in both the 8-Series and 9-Series go above and beyond top-shelf HDR standards for peak brightness and black levels, since they deliver not just 1000 nits and 0.05 nits respectively but can actually manage brightness levels of more than 1400 nits and black levels of 0.019 nits. In simple terms, Samsung really took the prizes home this year with the SUHD lineup.

Furthermore, the Tizen smart TV platform is still excellent. It hasn’t been enhanced too much from 2015 but then it didn’t really need much enhancement to begin with. In addition to this, while Samsung is still sticking to curved display in several of its SUHD TV models and KU-Series non-SUHD TVs, it also offers equivalent flat screen versions for nearly every single model type.

Samsung’s Tizen smart TV platform for 2016

The price range for Samsung’s 2016 4K TVs is quite large. Among the SUHD models, the cheapest of the bunch, the 55 inch KS8000, sells for $1,697.99, while the 78 inch flagship KS9800 sells for a whopping $9,997.99.

As for the KU-Series 4K TVs, the cheapest and smallest 40 inch KU6300 model sells for just $599.99 and the largest 78 inch KU7500 model retails for $5,999.99.

For 2016, Sony has been rather conservative in its releases of new 4K televisions, with only four new models having come out so far as direct successors to select premium 4K TVs from last year. These are the X850D, X900D and X930/940D 4K HDR TVs, which replace the exact same series from last year’s C-Series TVs. (X850C,X900C, X930/940C).

Unlike Samsung’s 2016 SUHD TVs, the Sony Bravia XBR-D-Series models did not choose to go with the Ultra HD Premium certification of the UHD Alliance and instead come stamped with Sony’s own “4K HDR” label for HDR quality. However, the measure of this quality seems to be a bit iffy as we’ve seen in our reviews of several of this year’s models. This is because the X850D and X900D at least don’t quite match the peak brightness requirements of 1000 nits or more for maximum display brightness.

On the other hand, the 2016 Sony TVs do offer full 10-bit color, Wide Color Gamut and deliver some very decent contrast ratios, though all but the flagship X940D TV fail to achieve these key specs to the same level of quality we’ve seen in the 2016 Samsung SUHD TVs, or even Vizio’s flagship line, the 2016 P-Series TVs (more on these shortly).

However, the bottom line for Sony in 2016 is that all of its 4K TVs do feature HDR with high quality specs. The dynamic range may not be quite as broad as what we’ve seen from Samsung or Vizio but it’s there across the board and it still looks great (and looks spectacular in the X940D flagship 4K TV).

As it has always done to-date, Sony delivers full flat screened 4K TVs with no pointless curved designs available, but the company has revamped the overall appearance of their four 2016 TVs quite dramatically from how they looked in 2015. These newest models offer a leaner, more minimalist form factor and the X930/X940D TVs lack the giant side-mounted speakers of their 2015 counterparts. This means a reduction in audio quality from the absolutely unbeatable built-in sound we saw in the 2015 versions of these TVs but the lack of speakers also comes with the benefit of much leaner, lighter body design.

As for Sony’s Android TV platform, we still consider it to be the third best smart TV interface of 2016, just as it was the third best in 2015 but it is now getting some sharp competition from Vizio’s new smart platform. Sony hasn’t changed Android TV much for this year.

Sony’s 2016 XBR-D Series 4K TVs sell for varied prices, with the cheapest of the bunch, the 55 inch X850D going for $1,398.00 and the top-shelf 75 inch X930D selling for $6,498.00.

Vizio is possibly the king of 4K LCD TVs for 2016. We don’t say this because of the absolute quality of these 4K TV models, since the Samsung SUHD TVs are superior in terms of most specs, especially those for HDR. However, while Vizio is a bit behind Samsung in absolute LCD 4K HDR TV quality, it largely makes up for this in the sheer number of different models and size ranges it has delivered for this year. Furthermore, in terms of value for dollars spent, nobody can yet beat Vizio’s 4K TVs. Additionally, there is the cool fact that the flagship P-Series TVs from this brand actually offer superior overall specs to those of most of Sony’s 2016 HDR TVs, despite being cheaper.

For 2016, we’ve seen the emergence of four distinct 4K TV lines. These are the flagship P-Series line of HDR 4K TVs, the second-tier but still great 2016 M-Series 4K HDR TVs, the E-Series budget 4K TVs and the D-Series 2016 budget 4K TVs.

Vizio’s 2016 P-Series flagship HDR 4K TVs

While we offer far greater detail in our reviews of all these 4K TVs as we complete them in the coming days, what we can say right now is that even the lowest-priced D-Series 4K televisions offer some genuinely god display quality, contrast and smart TV technology, with only their 8-bit color, peak brightness, motion control specs and a few other things like being a major weakness. Now this is the D-Series, Vizio’s cheapest 2016 4K TVs. When it comes to the M and P-Series 4K TVs which are the higher end of the line, things improve considerably.

What we also appreciate about the M-Series and P-Series in particular is that all of these 4K TVs offer full-array LED backlighting, a feature that’s normally found only in the flagship 4K TV models of competitors like Sony and Samsung or LG.

All of these things have radically changed in 2016 because Vizio has now also massively revamped their smart TV platform in a nearly revolutionary new way. Instead of the old TV-based smart platform of 2014 and 2015, the new 2016 smart OS comes as a downloadable app which can be installed to nearly any compatible smartphone or tablet. In the M-Series and P-Series TVs, the app comes preinstalled on an included 6 inch Android tablet with a Full HD display and in the cheaper D and E-Series TVs, it can be installed to your own mobile device from the web. This new app-based smart TV platform, called SmartCast, operates as the control center of a Vizio TV, allowing for control of content, web browsing and other functions on the TV screen through the included technology of Google Cast.

Vizios’ SmartCast tablet remote control with Google Cast

In basic terms, while this first edition of the SmartCast app isn’t without its glitches that Vizio needs to smooth out, it’s remarkably cool and unique, with the added benefit that you never really need to lose your TV remote, since the app itself is both smart platform and remote control all rolled into one and downloadable to multiple devices.

As for their prices, Vizio’s 4K TVs for 2016 have some of the diverse range for just about any budget there is. The cheapest and priciest models of each Vizio Series are priced as follows, with prices changing by a couple hundred dollars or less at different sizes in between the two extremes for each series:

LG is an odd company when it comes to 4K TV quality. We’ve referred to this on numerous occasions on this site and what we speak of is the brand’s odd tendency to focus enormous attention on making its OLED 4K TVs into some of the most spectacular television models on sale across the board for each year while also investing in what we still think is the best smart TV platform of the year for the third year in a row. At the same time however, LG delivers 4K LCD TVs that for 2014, 2015 and even in 2016 have underperformed in nearly all major metrics of display quality against the LCD 4K TVs of every other major North American brand. It’s as if LG puts so much effort into making their exquisite OLED UHD TVs the best they can be that they badly neglect the numerous more economical 4K LCD models they sell.

This at least seemed to be the case for 2015 in particular, a year in which all of LG’s LCD 4K UHD models underperformed against their Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and even Vizio counterparts despite being priced relatively highly in many cases. Their particular performance failures revolved around contrast and black level, with some of the worst specs in these areas for last year. On the other hand, their main saving grace was the superb WebOS smart TV platform (either version 1.0 or 2.0) that

Now in 2016, LG follows the same trend it did in 2015 and 2014 but to a fortunately lesser degree. The company’s 2016 OLED TVs are downright stunning in their optimal display specs and offer full HDR certification with the best main standards of Dolby Vision and Ultra HD Premium (HDR10). On the other hand, their LCD 4K TVs, which all also include HDR specs, offer what we still consider to be sub-par performance in some ways, at least for the lower-priced LCD models. Contrast and black uniformity are once again sub-par but the WebOS 3.0 smart platformis more impressive than ever and the HDR color in the LCD models is as impressive as what we’ve seen from Sony’s 4K TVs, though Vizio and Samsung deliver better HDR-level Wide Color Gamut results.

LG’s 2016 OLED models break down into four series. These are the flagship G6 TVs, which come in 65 and 77 inch size ranges; the E6 second-tier OLED models, which come in 55 and 65 inch sizes; the Mid-range (for OLED) C6 models in the 55 and 65 inch size ranges and finally, the nearly identical B6 OLED TVs. The C6 and B6 models are essentially the same with the exception that the C6 TVs offer curved display (they are the only LG OLED models to do so in 2016) and the G6 and E6 models are also nearly identical with minor difference like thicker display panels and superior sound in the flagship G6 being the case.

LG’s G6 Signature OLED 4K TV offers stunning display quality

For the 2016 OLED flagship TVs, LG has improved the display quality to unprecedented levels and as far as we’re concerned from our own review of the top-shelf G6 65 inch OLED model, there is no better 4K TV in existence today as far as general display quality is concerned. Only in peak brightness do any LCD models beat the G6 and the other OLED TVs of this year but these televisions compensate even for that with their virtually perfect pitch black quality.

For LG’s LCD 4K TVs, the entire 2016 lineup consists of 8 models. These are called the UH-Series and they range in price and size considerably, with several different ranges to choose from: The UH7700, UH8500 and UH9500 flagship LCD 4K models in different sizes being available.

The LCD offerings of LG for this year also offer HDR technology but without the sort of contrast and peak brightness or black levels that match the high quality we’ve seen in Vizio, Sony and Samsung HDR 2016 TVs in particular. Their color quality on the other hand is superb and they offer some excellent motion interpolation and upscaling features as well as the always great WebOS 3.0 smart TV platform.

In terms of prices, LG’s 2016 TVs can vary widely in cost depending on which models and types you buy. The OLED models are still very expensive as they’ve always been and the LCD UH-Series models vary from being relatively affordable to highly expensive. The price range between cheapest models and priciest models breaks down as follows:

LG G6 OLED flagship 4K TV:

Cheapest: 65 inch OLED65G6P at $7,999.99

Priciest: 77 inch OLED77G6P at $24,999

LG E6 OLED

Cheapest: OLED55E6P at $3,999.99

Priciest: OLED65E6P at $6,999.99

LG C6 and B6 OLED models

For these TVs we don’t yet have concretely confirmed prices but from what we know they will be priced at $3,000+ for the 55 inch models in each class and $5,000 or so for the 65 inch models of both the C6 and B6.

LG’s B6 OLED 4K TV for 2016 offers a more familiar design but also includes full top-shelf HDR specs

Other Brands

The above brands are the major North American models of 2016 4K Television. This is why we focus primarily on them. However, there are still many 4K TVs from Hisense, Panasonic, Sharp and TCL selling in select locations and online retailers. The Hisense 2016 ULED 4K TVs in particular are worth looking at due to their high-caliber specs and high dynamic range display features. We will be updating this post shortly with more information on these TVs as they become available.

What’s the best 4K TV out there?

We’ve divided our rating of the best individual 4K TVs by display type since it’s rather difficult and unfair to weight OLED models against LCD models on a general basis. OLED display is undoubtedly better on the whole but LCD deserves its own fair hearing as well.

LCD 4K UHD

For LCD 4K TVs released among the major North American brands in 2016, the single best model we’ve seen to date is without a doubt the Samsung KS9800 SUHD 4K TV. The entire 2016 SUHD lineup is superb for all major display specs and some of the best peak brightness and LCD TV contrast we’ve seen to-date but the full-array LED-lit KS9800 beats the other models like the edge-lit KS9500, KS9000 and KS8500 TVs by a wide margin with the quality of its contrast, black levels and stunning peak brightness. Color in this TV is comparable to that of its edge-lit cousins. This model is however extremely expensive, with a retail price of $9,997.99 for the one single 75 inch size range available.

A close runner-up to the KS98000 monster TV is Sony’s full-array LED-lit X940D 75 inch HDR 4K TV, which also offers some superb Ultra HD Premium-level specs and sells for a more “modest” $6,498.00 from Amazon.com.

Those of you who want a more budget oriented option in superb 4K TV display with full HDR qualification can also go for Samsung’s KS8000 SUHD TV, which sells for just $1,697.99 for the 55 inch model and offers some stunning motion control, HDR, color and content viewing quality. Another even cheaper but also excellent option is Vizio’s P-Series 4K TVs. They are remarkably affordable, available in several sizes and also deliver top-quality contrast, color performance, motion control specs and high dynamic range quality. The excellent 65 inch model sells for just $1,999.

Samsung’s KS9800 flagship LCD HDR 4K TV with full-array LED backlighting is the best LCD TV of 2016

OLED 4K UHD

For OLED 4K TV options in 2016, the LG G6 and E6 models are without a doubt the best TVs on sale today. They outperform their LCD counterparts above in all specs except peak brightness but when it comes to the quality of their overall picture characteristics, they are truly unbeatable, with perfect blacks, millions of individual dimming zones (due to the nature of OLED technology) and superb color performance that matches 98 to 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. No other 2016 4K TVs match this last spec, not even LG’s own C6 and B6 OLED models, though they come very close.

LG’s G6 Signature OLED 4K TV is the single best television of 2016 in our opinion.

The G6 and E6 TVs are however extremely expensive, with the 65 inch models of each selling for $7,999 and $3,999 respectively.

I have owned the XBR75X940C for the last six months and its performance is excellent. Great color reproduction, HDR is also excellent (in those 4K movies that have it), great black reproduction (full array back lit); very close to OLED, and double the nits of OLED which makes for a much brighter picture. NO regrets. Sony is more expensive that Vizio, but it’s also better quality. I would not hesitate to go with the 75X940C again.

Hello Ismael, thanks for the input and you have full agreement from us on your view of the X940C. It is indeed a superb 4K TV whose specs allow it to match even some of the best we’ve seen in 2016, even though it’s a 2015 model. This post however discussed the main TVs of this year, so a number of still excellent models from 2015 were excluded. The Samsung JS9500, the LG EG9600 and EF9500 and Sony’s X940C are all nearly as good as even the best TVs of 2016 though.

Hello Kenneth, this is definitely a tougher question to answer since both TVs are so good. I’ll try to make this as simple as possible.

The P-Series offers superior HDR specs. It’s not only better at peak brightness (by a low margin but better) but also delivers a slightly superior overall contrast. However, the local dimming in both TVs is almost the same, possibly even a bit better in the X940C. That said, the X940C also delivers better color coverage and wide color gamut delivery. Though both TVs have this technology, Sony’s Triluminos Display phosphor coating for their LEDs adds an extra kick of vibrancy and color range that improves the X940C’s overall color performance beyond what wide color gamut alone provides. On the other hand, the Vizio 2016 P-Series does offer HDR compability with both HDR10 and Dolby Vision, while the X940C only works with HDR10 content. This is a point in Vizio’s favor.

Furthermore, we think that Sony’s Android TV is the more reliable, solid smart TV platform. Vizio’s 2016 SmartCast is definitely a massive improvement from the Internet Apps Plus smart OS of older Vizio TVs but even SmartCast is too new to work with superb smoothness, at least from what we noted in our own reviews of the tablet-based smart OS. Thus, on smart functionality, Sony wins again. Finally, for sound power, you simply can’t beat the massively robust built-in speakers of the Sony X940C. They are downright impressive.

To conclude, I’d say go for the Sony X940C. If you were comparing the edge-lit X930C with the 2016 Vizio P-Series, I’d pick the Vizio model but the 75 inch X940C is a very impressive TV even now.

A Best Buy rep said the KU6300 sets do not really offer an HDR display, they display the material but don’t add the HDR ‘oomph’. Is this true?

An apparently knowledgeable Best Buy rep told me yesterday that the KU6300 series sets do not really offer HDR display. He claimed they can display HDR content but do not actually provide the HDR feature. I.e. they can broadcast HDR material but don’t actually show it with the added aspects/benefits that HDR provides.

Hence, Samsung is waffling when they say, in the specs: HDR Premium.

I doubt he’s right, but he did sound like he was honest and very knowledgeable on the subject.

Hello there Jeff, quite simply the rep you spoke to is partially right. The KU6300 and other KU-Series TVs do offer what we consider to be a certain degree of HDR in terms of contrast expansion between peak brightness and black level but what they don’t have is HDR color to any degree. Samsung isn’t outright lying here from what we’re seeing but they are being dishonest in implying that these are HDR TVs like the SUHD models are HDR TVs. They’re not. They don’t at all match the HDR standards of HDR10 via the UHD Alliance or offer Wide Color Gamut and 1000 nits of brightness.

Looking to get a new 55+” HDTV, but having trouble choosing between the following: LG 55EF9500, LG 65UH8500, Vizio P65-C1, or Sony XBR65X850D. They are all within the same price range, with the exception of the OLED. What would you recommend, and why?

Hello TV-less. If you’re going to choose among these models, I’d absolutely recommend the EF9500 above all the other models you mentioned. It offers stunning nearly perfect contrast, a remarkably high peak brightness of over 400 nits (which is better than what many high-end 4K LCD TVs offer even though OLED is supposed to be dimmer than LCD) and the EF9500 offers excellent color delivery even by the standards of 2016 premium 4K TVs. This TV also offers perfect local dimming too since it’s an OLED model and each individual pixel can be activated to display light or turned off completely. No LCD TV can come even close to beating that. Additionally, LG’s WebOS 2.0 is still a fantastic smart TV platform, beaten only by the 2016 version for LG’s 2016 TVs, WebOS 3.0. For more information on why we think OLED is almost uniformly superior to LCD, and for the technical differences between the two, I’d suggest you also look at this guide of mine: http://4k.com/oled-4k-tvs-vs-lcd-4k-tvs-the-comparison-across-8-key-points-12320-2/

If you decide not to go for the OLED 4K EF9500, i’d suggest thinking about one of Samsung’s 2016 SUHD TVs. They offer the best LCD TV performance for this year and deliver stunning peak brightness, color and contrast, much better than Sony’s 2016 models and even better than Vizio’s P-Series (which is nonetheless excellent as a more affordable 4K HDR TV.

Hi there Stephen! I need your advice. I just purchased a Sony XBR-75X850D (delivery next week). I am seeing some rather positive reviews for the Vizio P 75″. When I looked at these TV’s in the showroom … the Sonys colors seemed to “pop” a bit more than the Vizios. I know a store display can be tricky. Should I exchange my Sony for the Vizio or will I be happy watching 4K Blu-rays on the Sony. Such a competitive market … confusing!

Hi there Mike. I assume you’re referring to the Vizio P-Series 75 inch model from 2016 no? Well, overall, i’d say that the Sony X850D offers slightly better color. Sony has always been particularly good at delivering this particular spec and though both the Vizio and the Sony offer wide color gamut, w’d argue that Sony’s model indeed delivers it slightly better. However, keep in mind that while the X850D is only a bit better on coor than the Vizio, the Vizio TV will offer much better contrast and black levels than the X850D, at least from our experience with both TVs. Black level nad contrast ar also both very important to a rich movie/show watching experience.

Hi there Stephen! I need your advice. I’m planning for a 4K TV within budget of $600.. Found LG 55UH615A from Costco and Samsung 55KU6300 from Best Buy/Amazon. Please suggest which is best one with respect to picture quality, color, features and use of use.

Hi there Siva. I’d personally recommend the Samsung KU6300. We love LG’s WebOS 3.0 smart TV platform more than any other smart TV interface we’ve seen so far and LG definitely makes the bet 4K TVs in the world with their OLED 4K HDR models but with only a couple of exceptions (most notably the UH8500, UH9500 and the UH8550) the majority of LG’s LCD 4K TVs are oddly sub-part performers. The Samsung linnes of 4K TVs on the other hand for the msot part offer good to excellent performance depending on which models you buy. The KU6300 isn’t quite the best that Samsung has to offer for 2016 but it is a very good and very affordable starter 4K TV for 2016 and offers decent display specs, good color performance, great contrast and good black levels. It also deliver some very good motion handling specs when it comes to motion blur. Also, at least at the time this comment was answered, The KU6300 is still even on sale today in particular on Amazon.com for an even lower than normal retail sales price. (on July 12th when this comment was answered but check the Amazon link in our review link if you’re interested in the price: http://4k.com/tv/samsung-ku6300-review-4k-uhd-smart-flat-led-tv-series-un65ku6300-un60ku6300-un55ku6300-un50ku6300-un40ku6300/

Hi Stephen!
i need your advise, i’m planning to buy 55″ LG UF9500 (http://www.lg.com/au/tvs/lg-55UF950T) since it is on sale for $1300 in my country, i love the design, i don’t really care about the true black, but it’s not support HDR yet (correct me if i’m wrong) and i’m afraid it will be obsolete faster than i plan it to be (i don’t buy TVs that often, maybe every 3-5 years)
The other options are
– KD-49X8300C (less size, cost more, about $1600)
– UA55JS7200 (same size, cost about the same at $1300) http://www.samsung.com/za/consumer/tv-av/tv/suhd/UA55JS7200KXXA

Does the HDR really matters? even for general user like me?
i’m using it mostly for movies and gaming

I found your comparisons excellent but for a 70 year old none-techie, it was above my pay grade. I have a 10 year old Sony Bravia that’s dying and I’m looking for the best 2016 55″ 4K on the market. Can you help me? I have both Sony and Samsung TVs so I am partial to them. Thanks

Stephen, need your help! Can’t make up my mind between a 2016 Samsung 8-series UHD set and the Sony X930D…both 65″ models. Reviews say both have issues wi reliability. Plan to mount the screen on the wall, in my bedroom, for watching 4K content, movies, and streaming video….which would you choose and why? Have you observed any issues why either set? Non functioning after a mon or so? Power cable issues?

I just recently got into this game by purchasing a JS8500 as an open box special from my local best buy, only to be disappointed by excessive side screen light bleed and was forced to take it back, The store was gracious enough to allow me to trade it up to a VIZIO M70-D3 which my initial impressions left my Jaw literally on the floor. The 4K reproduction was IMHO far and away better than all else except the LG OLED I saw at the store. However, one caveat. UPSCALING. I was unimpressed to say the least. As such, it is my opinion that once any of these TVs earn the H10 or the Dolby Vision nomenclature or both as the M series and P series VIZIOS have, I believe that what they do with 1080p material is what we should be most concerned with. After all, 4K content is less than 3% of any providers content lists to date and Cable barely broadcasts at 1080p, all while 70% of our time in front of a TV screen is spent watching these less than full HD content.
Anyway, I digress. My main concern now is reliability. Shall I stick with the VIZIO and hope it doesn’t fall apart in 3-12 months or shall I go with one of the bigger brands??? ( I still have 1 week to decide )

Hi there Edsel. Just like all the bigger brands, Vizio offers plenty of warranty to its 4K TVs and we’d even say that by now the company is one of the “big brands” in terms of the quality of its 4K TV models’ color and picture reproduction qualities. If you’re happy with your Vizio model so far and have noted no problems. I’d suggest you stick with it. You’ve saved some money and this is indeed a great 4K HDR TV, though it lacks the wide color gamut that the older JS8500 has. Personally, I’d go as far as to claim that the 2016 M-Series is in most regards a superior TV to the JS8500, especially as far as black levels and brightness capacity are concerned.

Hi Stephen!
i need your advise, i’m planning to buy 55″ LG UF9500 (http://www.lg.com/au/tvs/lg-55UF950T) since it is on sale for $1300 in my country, i love the design, i don’t really care about the true black, but it’s not support HDR yet (correct me if i’m wrong) and i’m afraid it will be obsolete faster than i plan it to be (i don’t buy TVs that often, maybe every 3-5 years)
The other options are
– KD-49X8300C (less size, cost more, about $1600)
– UA55JS7200 (same size, cost about the same at $1300) http://www.samsung.com/za/consumer/tv-av/tv/suhd/UA55JS7200KXXA

Does the HDR really matters? even for general user like me?
i’m using it mostly for movies and gaming

What is the difference between the JS 9000 or 9500 for that matter and the KS series that Samsung makes? I’m really hard pressed to choose between the two. I want something that has a full back-lit array, octa core processor, HDR, 240 motion rate, and is… FLAT. I dislike the curves Out of the Samsung models what do you suggest? The JS is significantly more expensive (although cost isn’t really a factor) so I’m wonder what the differences are?

Hello Jaeson, quite simply there is almost no difference between the different pairs. So the KS9500 is just the curved version of the KS9000, the KS8500 is the curved version of the KS8000 and if you compare between the 9000/9500 combo and the 8000/8500 combo, there is only a bit more peak brightness, slightly better color and a bit better motion handling worth of difference between those two pairs. Only the KS9800 is truly a different model du to its full-array LED backlighting mainly.

Stephen,
Curious… How would you rank Sony’s XBRX950B – that you gave a raving review to back in Aug of 2015 – to the Sony and Samsung 4K’s of today in 2016, based on your article above. Even though it’s not HDR would you say that it still holds up picture quality / mechanics-wise? Or does the new display technology of 2016 blow the 950B out of the water by now?

Hi there Wendy, I’m not sure quite what your budget might be but I’ll assume it’s not too heavily restricted. To keep this simple, I’ll give you two recommendations I think are particularly great at this size range. First and best of all, the Samsung KS8500 or KS8000 2016 SUHD TVs Theyre priced almost the same at under $1400 and have identical specs except the KS8500 offers a curved display. In both cases you get stunning high dynamic range, superb color and the highest levels of peak brightness of any 2016 4K TV. I absolutely recommend either of these models.

Stephen,
We are having a tough time deciding between a Samsung Model: UN55KU6300FXZASKU and a Vizio 60″ EU-D3. Budget is very important to us, and even though these TV’s are priced within $100 of each other, which one would you recommend as the best bang for our buck? We aren’t wild about the Vizio SmartCast if we can only use it on our phones. Please let us know if you think it’s worth dropping down in size to the 55″ Samsung for better quality and App capability. Thanks!

Hey Brad, I definitely recommend the Vizio TV more. The 2016 M-Series have Dolby Vision HDR while the KU6300 has no mainstream HDR standards to speak of and the Vizio model also offers far superior local dimming, motion control specs and manages a better contrast ratio as well, with superior black level performance. Color performance in the two models is similar however and we consider Samsung’s Tizen smart TV platform to be better than Vizio’s SmartCast, at least for now but the Vizio M-Series is also a grat gaming 4K TV and a grat TV for use as a PC monitor. In both of these areas it performs better than the Samsung model

Hey there Brad, the 10 bit color of the P-Series or the SUHD TVs does indeed make a difference but it will only really be notabl for actual HDR content in the same format (HDR10 or Dolby Vision). For SDR video content, you likely won’t notice any real difference in color quality.

Dell has an LH 65 uh7700 for $1499 with a $400 gift card and $150 back if you finance. Was looking for a future proofing in my tv and the 7700 has HDR and DV, I know it’s there entry level SUHD but in your opinion is it a good deal and how does it stack up to other entry level or mid level 4K tvs? It has a 10 bit panel and wider color gamut and looks like it gets decently bright! Thanks for the help!

Here is my confusion. With HDR being such a game changer, I would think that a tv’s with dolbyvision would have an advantage, seeing as how it’s better that HDR10 (being 12bit which u said was a huge jump over 8bit) But the Samsung always wins no matter where I look, and they don’t offer Dolby vision, so with that being said, should dolbyvision be a deal breaker?

Hey there Greg, no Dolby vision is definitely not a deal breaker. For one thing we actually consider it to be the more dynamic standard of the two with a better set of standards for color and brightness built into it for content mastering during production (even though many current Dolby Vision-capable 4K TVs can’t quite match the full range of the spec) And secondly, perhaps more importantly, Dolby Vision is now designed to also support HDR10 content if I recall correctly, whereas HDR10 only supports HDR10 mastered content. All current Dolby Vision 4K TVs we’ve reviewed also support HDR10 but not all HDR10 TVs support Dolby Vision. You’re actually slightly better off going for a Dolby Vision TV now, though the HDR10 models are also superb.

Stephen,
I’m stuck deciding between 3 tv’s. they all have the same price point @ $1799.00. They are the LG 65UH8500, Samsung UN65KS8000FXZA, and the Sony XBR65X850D. Of those 3 I have overloaded my brain with data. What is your opinion on these sets? Any of them will be better than my current 60″ Mitsubishi DLP. Thanks in advance

I’m in the market for an entry level 4k UHD set and can buy either the Samsung 49KU7000 or LG uh7700.
I don’t know which to get as each have a major issue (through my research) that can’t be avoided.

Samsung:
Major issue I’ve found is the 60hz true panel refresh rate that causes a substantial amount of blur when watching sport. I’m a huge football (soccer) fan and hence this a major issue for me. How well do you think the tv handles sport and motion?

LG
2 major issues: the tv battles with upscaling and the tv struggles with the dark scene movies, when watched in a dark room. I watch TV mainly at night.
What do you think about these?

Please let me know your thoughts on the above. I have no other tv’s to choose from due to limited supply of models in South Africa where I’m based.

PLEASE HELP!!!!! Do I buy the LG65UH9500 or the Samsung KS900 65 inch? Both are very close in price, $200 difference. Watching sports and gaming, primary use. You tell me which or recommend another comparable model in the same price range.
Thanks for you help.

Hi there Daniel, go for the Samsung KS9500 and for a very simply reason: It offers much better black level performance than the UH9500 and this will make a tremendous difference to how good the HDR color and general picture quality of the TV display look. The UH9500 is a very good LG LCD TV and both TVs offer the same color performance but those rich, deep Samsung blacks completely beat the LG model. Also, the KS9500 delivers slightly better motion control performance, which we think is important for gaming, sports and movies.

I am in the market for a TV that will serve the main purpose of watching movies and sports, and to a lesser degree video games. So far I have narrowed down my choices to a Sony X850D, Samsung KS7500, LG UH770 and LG UH850. The KS8000 isn’t available where I am located unfortunately. Prices for the 4 TVs I mentioned are largely similar. Which of the 4 would you recommend and why?

Hey there Mario, We’ve never reviewed the KU6000 so I can’t tell you exactly how it is, but we have reviewed the KU6300 and I can safely say that it’s a great gaming 4K TV, as are pretty much all of Samsung’s 2016 4K TVs that we’ve reviewed by now. The KU6300 delivers solid picture quality, decent motion handling and its 4K HDR and 4K SDR gaming input lag times are excellent, at 20.2ms and 19.6ms respectively if the TV is in game mode.

Can you please explain the right combination of settings to get the best picture out of the Samsung UN55KS8000, I am also runing the UBD-K8500 4K UDH Blu-Ray player with it. Do I need to adjust settings on the player and tv? Also, I don’t really understand the calibration. I am new to 4K and HDR. I did a ton of research but it’s just so much to digest. I know room and distance and lighting all have an affect. It’s a fairly well lit room that also gets very dark and I sit about 7-10 feet away. I am a litttle confused by the HDR+ special mode, it does enhance the picture but I am not sure exactly what it is. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Awesome article. 🙂

Thanksgiving is upon us and I’m in the market for a 65″ TV. Could you please help choose between the Samsung KS8000 and the KS9000. There is a $700 price difference for superior motion rate and better dimming and a smart remote based on my research so far. Do these items justify the price difference, is image quality on the 9000 superior enough to justify the price. Please let me know. Thank you!

Hey there Sam. Quite honestly, no, the price isn’t worth paying for the relatively minor differences. Samsung made its 2016 4K TVs from the KS9500 on downwards with remarkably similar display specs and overall performance. The KS8000 does offer slightly lower brightness and maybe a bit of reduction in its black levels and motion handling but these differences are virtually unnoticable. They’re certainly not worth the extra $700 for the KS9000.

Can you please help me? I want an 85in tv. I have looked at the Samsung JS7100 and Sony X850D which is very comparable to the Lg 86UH9500. Now I have read everything I can find on the LeEco UMax85. The Umax85 hardware specs 448 zones and FALD is off the charts and has both HDRs but I am very concerned about the 4K upscaling capability nuts and contrast. The LG seems like the best choice but strongly thinking of rolling the dice on the Umax85 especially for the price. Sony and LG price is almost equal. I would buy a Visio P if the made one bigger. Help!!!!!!

Hello Darren, These are some tough choices. I haven’t yet reviewed the UMax85 from LeEco but its written specs are definitely awesome sounding, though this can be deceptive. However, we are in the process of reviewing a new Super4 X55 fom LeEco, which also comes with HDR10 and is just now being released and from what we got to see, it’s a great 4K TV. This gives me hope that the Umax85 will be just as good as its specs suggest. Aside from this TV, among the models you mention, I’d definitely go for the Sony X850D above the other models. W like the LG UH9500 and its color performance is stunning but the Sony model offers better black performance due to its VA panel technology. This is a crucial quality of a 4K TV’s display so if you can get that, go for it instead of IPS display. The motion handling specs of the X850D are also slightly better than those of the UH9500, though both perform very well.

Hi there Katie, go for the Vizio M-Series model. It offers superior overall performance while also being a generally better 4K TV than the LG model. However, we should note that the M-Series also offers high quality local local dimming, much better motion handling specs for upscaled and native 4K content and it’s also a better 4K TV for gaming from a console if you or someone in your home likes to do that. The LG model beats the Vizio TV only on the range of its color support (10-bit color and the Vizio only comes with 8-bit color) but this isn’t enough to make it a more worthwhile TV.

Hey there Dany, without a doubt I recommend you go for the Samsung KU6300. It’s definitely the better TV between the two and offers far better black levels, much higher contrast and it comes with 10-bit color for a much richer color tone rendering. The motion handling of the Samsung model is also slightly better (though the Vizio E-Series delivers 24 content playback which the KU6300 lacks, but this is a minro benefit compared to all the weaker points of the E-Series model. Quite simply, the KU6300 is the much better 4K TV overall.

Hey there Derek, Both of these TVs are actually pretty closely matched. The two things we’d give the KS9000 over the X930D is that the Samsung model delivers slightly deeper blacks and a distinctly higher level of peak brightness. However you’ll almost certainly love whichever model you pick. I’d suggest choosing based on which smart platform you prefer (we prefer Samsung’s Tizen slightly) or price.

Be cautious of the ks8000, all 4 Best Buy’s by my house the display ks8000 screen is pulling away from the rest of the tv causing light leak and distortion there. The Samsung expert at one store stated it was a known issue on some 8000 tv’s and suggests the 9000 for build quality since picture quality is almost the same.

I’m having a hard time deciding between the Samsung ks9000 and Sony x930d in 65″. The hdr or zone lighting on the Sony seems drastically better than the Samsung but the Samsung is definitely brighter unfortunately the whole screen is brighter not just the focus area. Samsng also has some very unnatural looking colors but I’m presuming they can be tuned or adjusted. Samsung also seems to have a poor 4K upscaling from 1080 compared to the Sony. Sony has a terrible remote and confusing android system. I’m just looking for some advice after returning an lg oled because it simply was not bright enough for day time tv watching in my family room, much worse than my old Samsung LCD, later I found out the lg oled has a max bright of just under 500 nitts so less than half a led LCD unless you spend 5k on an oled. Which would you recommend and why? Thanks

Hi Stephen,
I’m a single female in my 60’s and I’m looking for a TV to put in my living room. I’ve been reading up on all these different types of TV’s on various websites and have gotten completely confused to the point of screaming. I’m currently in the market for a 55″ to 60″ TV and was not sure what to purchase. Please HELP!

Hello, we are looking at getting a black friday “budget” UHDTV (comparing the 50″ Samsung UN50KU6300 and the 49″ LG 49UH6030). The LG would end up being cheaper by about $100.00…are they similar enough that it would be worth it to go with the cheaper LG?? We have an old crappy off-brand 32″ TV now, so anything will be an upgrade…I just want something that looks decent, works well with WiFi for Netflix, and has a good reliability rating. Thank you for your help!

I just bought a Viizio E65 but it hasn’t been shipped. Naturally I’m having buyer’s remorse. It’s driving my wife crazy. This morning I see the LG 65H6030 for $799, just a bit more than I paid for the Vizio. Which would you recommend? By the way, yours is the most informative site I’ve seen. Thanks.

Which 55″ SUHD would you recommend between sony, samsung, ans LG? Choosing not to pay for the price of OLED, I stilll ended up purchasing the LG 55 UH8500. I walked into BB with the Samsung 55″ UN55KS8000 in mind, and left purchasing the the LG “equivalent” based on the LG reps pursuasion. The Sony rep also almost had me on their 55″ “equivelenat”. I have time to change my order. Not sure if I made the best selction of the bunch.

I need to clear some confusion please. I just bought a Samsung 55KS8000 4K LED TV. In your comparison, your words (4K LCD):

”Thus, for this year, the real impressive results in Samsung’s latest lineup have without a doubt been the five new 8-Series and 9-Series SUHD TVs. In our view, these are the best overall major North American brand LCD 4K TVs of this year. They consist of the KS8000, KS8500, KS9000, KS9500 and KS9800. The 8000 and 8500 are identical except that the 8500 comes with a curved display and the same applies for the 9000 and 9500, with the 9500 offering curved display. The KS9800 is the only full-array LED-lit model in Samsung’s 2016 lineup and is the company’s flagship 4K TV”

you mention LCD, while Samsung mentions LED. So, what did I buy ? A 8000 series LED, or as you mention…an LCD ?

Hey there Steve. Sorry if this gets a bit confusing. Quite simply, for all modern premium TVs and any 4K TV today, LCD and LED refer to the type of TV in all respects and we often use the two acronyms interchangeably even though they refer to the same thing. LCD stands for liquid crystal display (where the pixels are located) and the LED part refers to the LED backlighting panel that sits behind the LCD display surface of an LCD/LED TV. You bought the same TV, a Samsung LCD/LED KS8000. Edge.lit in the sense that the LEDs behind its LCD panel display are along the edges of the TV facing inwards instead of directly behind the display pointing towards you.

I bought a LGuh7700 65″ after the sales person convinced me not to buy the vizio m series 65″. I have 15 days to return it if i decided to. I felt pressured to buy the LG did i make the right choice? Which is a better TV

Hey there Jordan. If the Vizio 4K TV was a P-Series model, then you would have been much better off with the Vizio TV in my view. They not only offer far superior black level performance and better overall color quality as well, they’re also much better TVs for handling motion and for console gaming if that’s your thing. The Vizio P-Series is an overall superb 4K TV at a good price while the UH7700 is only decent. Not bad but also not particularly good in our view, by 4K TV standards.

All I want to know is which LG 4K is better: the 49UH6030 or the 49UH6100? Can anyone out there give me a straight answer as to what the difference is? I purchased the 49UH6030 online at HHGregg for $399.99, but now they say they can’t fulfill the order and want to give me the 49UH6100 at the same price. Should I accept the offer or fight to get the 49UH6030 that I paid for already?

Hello Joe, Quite frankly, though there is little major difference in quality between the two TVs, you are actually better off with the UH6100. It’s the slightly better TV model. We don’t consider it to be a particularly great 4K LCD TV (most of LG’s lower LCD models arent) but it’s not a bad performer and offers great upscaling, 10-bit color and decent brightness. It’s black level performance isn’t too great however. But as I said, the UH6030 won’t perform better. Take the UH6100 order is what my advice would be.

Hello there William, I absolutely recommend the Sony X930D over the JU7100. Samsung made a great TV with the JU7100 but it’s not an HDR model and the Sony X930D delivers considerably superior, more cutting-edge display specs which include full HDR color, extremely high peak brightness and superior overall contrast performance. It’s also a much better 4K TV model for motion handling. If you want to use your TV for watching HDR movies and streaming programming, the X930D will display the full quality of the HDR while the JU7100 will not. Yes, you’ll lose 10 inches of display space with the Sony TV but it’s far better suited for the kind of high end 4K video that will be much more common in 2017.

HELLO,
I am vacillating between SONY X700D and Samsung KU7000. I am from the Middle east and would be mainly watching TV shows. I heard that SONY tvs have the problem of inability to play movies from USB drive. For its part, SAMSUNG KU7000 has judder issues. Which one should I choose? Thanks in advance.

Hello. Well i am just an ordinary guy looking for my first ultra hd tv. sooo many choices, so many reviews, sort of a kid in a candy store with a twenty dollar bill and i am overwhelmed! i think i have whittled down the pile to two…the lg65uh7650 and the samsung un65ku630d. what do You think?
please help

Hi there Pul, in case you haven’t already bought your first 4K TV, I’d absolutely recommend the KU6300 (The more common name of the KU630D TV in the U.S market) over the LG model. it’s general picture quality is definitely better and the black levels, contrast and peak brightness are all excellent by the standards of mid-range 4K TVs from 2016. Samsung’s 4K TVs are also excellent choices for console gaming or use as PC monitors if that’s your thing. They deliver great connectivity support for different resolution formats and low input lag for consoles like the PS4 or others.

Hi there Stacy, both are stunningly good HDR 4K TVs and their specs are nearly equal in terms of peak brightness, color reproduction and motion handling. However, the X940D comes with full-array LED backlighting and thus offers the very high quality feature of local dimming much better than the KS9000. The KS9000 also delivers excellent black levels but the X940D does a bit better at delivering them due to its more precise local dimming. Thus, if you can get it for that much cheaper, then absolutely, yes, go for the X940D Sony model. You almost certainly won’t be disappointed.

I have narrowed down my choices to the Lg 55uh 7650 and the Vizio M60-D1. The are virtually the same price at Costco($699/$729). Can’t beat the warranty opportunity from Costco. I sit about 10ft. from TV. I would like to avoid use of a sound bar. I hate motion blur. Thanks for the advice.

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